TEPCO Begins Removing Nuclear Fuel at Fukushima Plant

OKUMA, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 18: In this handout image provided by Tokyo Electric Power Co, workers remove nuclear fuel rods from a pool at No. 4 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on November 18, 2013 in Okuma, Fukushima, Japan. TEPCO started removing nuclear fuel from a damaged reactor building for the first time, marking a new stage in the decades-long decommissioning process. The operation to empty the storage pool in the No. 4 reactor building, which holds 1,533 nuclear fuel assemblies, began and expected to be removed by December 2014. But the overall decommissioning work at the stricken nuclear plant is expected to take 30 to 40 years to complete. (Photo by Tokyo Electric Power Co via Getty Images)